Verizon Wireless Brings The Power Of Its 4G LTE Network To Richmond And Greater Hampton Roads in Virginia On Oct. 20

LAUREL, MD — Mike Maiorana, Verizon Wireless president of the Virginia, Maryland, Washington, DC region, today announced that the company is launching the world’s first large-scale 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) network in two new areas of Virginia – Richmond and Hampton Roads – on Oct. 20. Already, Verizon Wireless’ 4G LTE network is available in northern Virginia and Blacksburg, Virginia, in addition to 143 other cities across the country, with more activations planned in 2011, including Roanoke, Virginia by year’s end. With this expansion next month, residents in the Greater Richmond and the Hampton Roads communities of Norfolk, Newport News and Virginia Beach with 4G LTE devices will be able to take advantage of the power of the 4G LTE network with speeds up to 10 times faster than the company’s 3G network.

“We’re proud to expand our 4G LTE footprint to more areas of Virginia and help residents, small businesses and local governments connect faster and more fully with each other and with others across the country,” said Maiorana. “Our 4G LTE network is revolutionizing the way people communicate, and we know this connectivity will be a key technology enabler for many years to come.”

In real-world, fully loaded network environments, Verizon Wireless 4G LTE users should experience average data rates of 5 to 12 megabits per second (Mbps) on the downlink and 2 to 5 Mbps on the uplink. Verizon Wireless introduced its 4G LTE network on Dec. 5, 2010, covering more than 110 million Americans, and has already expanded to cover more than half the U.S. population. Since launch, the 4G LTE network has won numerous technology and consumer choice awards. The company will continue to rapidly expand its 4G LTE network and is on course to cover more than 185 million Americans by the end of 2011.

As the first wireless company in the world to broadly deploy a large-scale 4G LTE network, Verizon Wireless is committed to building its 4G LTE network with the same performance and reliability for which it has long been recognized. Verizon Wireless’ consistent focus on reliability is based on rigid engineering standards and a disciplined deployment approach year after year. The company’s 700 MHz spectrum gives Verizon Wireless specific advantages with 4G LTE, including a contiguous, nationwide network license.